Same routine this morning - up at 6.15 then down for food at 7 followed by registration, kit check and safety briefing. A few were now in need of medical attention for blisters, sore knees and such like so the on-hand VOTWO medic was certainly kept busy. I only had a few scratches to show for my efforts yesterday and although I was tired, as is now becoming usual, I didn't ache (well, sat down I didn't, not sure what was going to happen when I try to get into a pace faster than a walk).
Amazingly the sun was out and there was very little wind - it was supposed to be almost 30 degrees down in Bournemouth : certainly wouldn't be anywhere near that in Wales but sun would be nice for a change!?
By 8.30 everyone was milling around outside the hostel 'raring' to go and the sun had gone, replaced once again by fine mist. And off we went, back down the road to the coast once again. The first few miles were over gently rolling heather clad hills before we started to climb on a quiet lane towards Holyhead Mountain. Here the sea mist really rolled in. Melissa, Max and Jenni were well ahead already and there was a 'gang' of around 10 several minutes behind me. It was like running in a snowglobe - I could only see around 15" all around me and this area of visibility moved when you did. Luckily the footpath itself was pretty well marked across the mountain either by slabs of rock or regular posts with the familiar tern. The checkpoint was supposed to be around 9km into the route so when my garmin showed almost 8 miles, I was beginning to panic...seriously! I'd gone all the way up, over and down the mountain yet still hadn't come across anywhere (within my 15" of visibility) where a checkpoint could be. Hadn't seen anyone else for the last hour so it was a huge relief to finally see the USN banner.
It was then a relatively flat run around Holyhead itself before running down the side of the ferry port to once again pick up the coastal path. Just before checkpoint 2 the path went through the woodland of Penrhos Coast Park where I passed a mass graveyard for pets! You never know what you'll encounter...
After refuelling, it was then a very long stretch along the shoreline so by now I'm getting pretty adept at rock scrambling! Max was having real trouble with his hip and I caught up with him fairly quickly. Andy also had a quick pit stop behind me at the checkpoint and then caught the two of us up as we were trying to decipher where the path went once we got to the end of the muddy estuary...apparently straight through it and then up over a field of young heifers! At least that's the route we took.
We then caught up and passed a guy who hadn't been infront of us before so again, people were having trouble reading the map or missing signs but that's not the point of the event - just to finish, via whatever route, is a success. It was here that Max dropped back quickly, experiencing a lot of pain with his hip.
After reaching the small village of Llanfrachraeth, Andy and I hit yet another estuary so yet more running in bogs before reaching the long sandy beach with great views back to Holyhead on our left. The sun was also starting to break through the temperature began to creep up quite quickly. The route now took us through a variety of grassy fields and dramatic cliff tops with several drop downs to quiet little coves and beaches. The fuel tank suddenly got very empty and we were hoping (against hope) that the next checkpoint would be over the next hill....then the next...and the next until finally I dragged my weary body into the welcome car park at Church Cove. After scoffing a cheese sandwich, coke and plenty of biscuits and jelly babies I reluctantly ventured out again just as Andy came round the corner into the car park looking just as exhausted as I had 5 minutes ago. That was a long 19k section from checkpoint 2.
Refreshed I seem to have a bit of extra spring in my step and quickly covered the next few miles. A 'wow' moment welcomed me around 3 miles after the checkpoint where I suddenly had to work my way round a maze of brightly coloured heather and gorse bushes : every variation of purple was here, before dropping down a steep slope to be faced with a rock walled reservoir and a thick forest of pine trees. I could have been in Scotland rather than North West Wales. All I needed was a red deer stag to complete the picture.
After this the terrain reverted to gently rolling pastures filled with sheep and cows...up, down, up, down. Once again my garmin ran out despite my willing it to hold on for just a few more miles. It already registered 29.97 miles covered in 6h 30m so today was going to be the furthest I had ever run in one event. A couple passed me going in the opposite direction and announced I was in "bronze medal position" which had a nice Olympic ring to it!
Eventually the very welcome sight of the VOTWO banners came into sight on my right but cruelly, I had to continue to run straight ahead through another couple of fields before then turning right then right again to reach the finish. Melissa and Jenni had, amazingly, finished almost an hour before. Then I tucked into the food and hot soup and laid out in the sun waiting for the others and cheering them home. Karl was next home.
Massive ultra distance today of 32 miles in exactly 7:00, finishing in 3rd place.
After a couple of hours there were enough of us home to fill one of the mini-buses back to base with first priority being a lovely cuppa! I decided that, although I wasn't particularly sore (other than now having quite a number of cuts to my legs from the brambles, twigs, heather, horseflies and other biting and scratching things) it might be prudent to have a massage to give myself a better chance of not being too stiff tomorrow and this turned out to be quite a wise move and a well spent £12! 30 minutes later I was feeling much better and after everyone had returned and chilled out for a bit, 7 of us headed back down to The Paddlers Return for some much needed food and hydration and sharing of the day's war stories! Turned into a right party and we didn't roll into bed until the unearthly hour of 9pm!!
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